Healing Hearts
by AutumnalBloom
Summary: Based off of a Loki-Imagine: Imagine you work in the emergency room of a New York hospital. During the Chitauri attack, you look after the casualties. It's been a very long day. Then, they bring in a man who has been badly beaten but who is handcuffed like a criminal. You don't know who he is or what he has done to be chained down, but care for him like the other victims.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

Notes/Warnings: Some language, medical situations/gore, other Avengers characters. I don't know whether I'm going to make another chapter to this, I guess it just depends on whether people like it and if the mood strikes me. This is the first time I've written Loki fanfiction, so hopefully you like it. Thanks!

The ER was full of people. "Code seven, all available staff to the ER, I repeat, a code seven." Said a monotone voice from the nurse's station. Sophie pushed her dark hair back into a tight ponytail, looking around as she rushed to the front. "What's happening?" She asked her lead nurse, looking around. In the distance, she could hear the whine of ambulances and explosions. A terrorist attack?

The nurse nodded to the television. "Mass casualty situation. Not sure exactly what's happening, but we've got the first ten and they're three minutes out. Better get ready to triage, we've got more coming after that." She added, getting some blood bags ordered to be brought down.

Sophie nodded. The estimate was wrong, however, as a badly injured man was carted in. The EMTs were rushing, and she jogged to catch up with him. "What happened?" She asked, concerned. He seemed to be missing a good chunk of his arm, and the male was unconscious from blood loss. The EMTs handed him off. "We think rubble- not sure."

Then, they were gone again to transport more victims. She assigned him a yellow tag and cleaned his wound, looking confused. It seemed more like a bite, or a tear. Whatever was happening in the city, it was definitely big. And it was her responsibility to take care of now, along with the other staff.

The injured and dead continued in a steady stream all night. Men, women, children, no one was exempt. By midnight, they were all exhausted and tear-stained, as well as nearly covered in blood. Sophie was just about to go on her break when one last patient was brought in. The head nurse looked at her. "Can you take care of him please, Sophie? I'm sorry, I know you're tired. We all are." She added, wearily.

Sophie nodded. "Sure, Mary." She approached the bed and looked at him. The man was certainly awake, and odd looking. It didn't click with her who he was, she hadn't watched the news since the event started. A man in gold and green armor, handsome, and handcuffed. Beside him was…Tony Stark? She did a double take and swallowed hard. No wonder Mary had assigned her to this. "Uhm, hello Mr. Stark." She knew better than to ask many questions. "We'll take him to the security room and do an examination."

Loki arched an eyebrow, deciding to interject. "I suppose I don't get a say in that, do I, beautiful?" He said, in a low tone.

Stark chuckled. "Shut it, puny god." He added, laughing harder at his own joke.

Sophie looked at him a little oddly but took Loki's rolling bed and pushed it to the security room. It had huge plexiglass windows, a guard outside, and a door that locked on the outside. She walked over to him and sighed, surveying the damage. "Considering you're handcuffed to this thing and Tony Stark brought you in, I'm not going to ask what happened. I have to take your armor off, though. And since you're handcuffed to the bed, removing it might be a little bit tricky."

He smirked. "I don't normally complain about being stripped by a lovely nurse. However," He slid his wrist from the handcuff easily. "I'll handle things this time."

Her face flushed, and she scowled at him. "I can assign you to someone else. Edith, for example."

Loki arched an eyebrow and pulled off the chest piece of the armor, wincing. "Ah. alright…no jokes." He was trying to disguise the amount of pain he was in. "I may have broken a few ribs."

Sophie nodded and grabbed a medical chart. "X-ray is your next stop, then. Name?" She asked, picking up a pen and preparing to scribble.

He looked at her, removing his shirt slowly. "My name is Loki, prince of Asgard. I'm surprised you don't recognize me, miss."

She didn't even look at him, or his chest. After being a nurse for so long, she had started to tune everything out. "Alright…Loki of Asgard. Got it."

If Iron Man hadn't been the one to bring him in, she would have written him off as another crazy. Not that he probably wasn't anyways. "I haven't been watching the news. It's been a long day." After she scribbled a few more things down, she pushed his bed down to x-ray and left him there for nearly half an hour.

While he was gone, she worked in the morgue, helping to clear the backlog. It felt like her day was never going to end. When the results for his x-ray came back, she couldn't help but frown a little. Three broken ribs and the rest were definitely bruised. No wonder. His shoulder was dislocated too. Theoretically, he should have been screaming in pain…but he wasn't. Maybe he wasn't kidding about being from…elsewhere.

Sophie pushed the door open to his room and walked in, leaning over his bed. They were quite close. It wouldn't bother her if it had been someone else, but he really was really attractive. A flush started to cover her cheeks, and she fanned herself in an effort to fake being overheated. That seemed to amuse him.

"Are you warm?" He asked, smirking. "Perhaps you should seek out some water."

She shook her head and put a hand on his chest, frowning. "You're quite cold. Is that normal? I mean, if you were a person you would be dead at this temperature."

That seemed to trigger something inside him that was still a bit sore. "Well, I'm not a person." He snapped. "I'm fine. Just a little sore. I'd rather not be here if I can help it. Why don't you just send me on?"

Sophie rolled her eyes, setting his ribs. "You broke three ribs. Now I have to relocate your shoulder. You probably won't like this." She walked around to the other side of the bed and took his shoulder in one hand, and placed another hand at a very particular angle near his breastbone. "Take a deep breath. I'll do it on one."

He arched an eyebrow. "One?" Then she slammed his shoulder forward, causing him to let out a cry of pain. He wasn't prepared for that. "Damn! What the hell did you do that for?" He said, looking up at her grumpily.

She gave an innocent look, feeling a little mischievous in his presence. "It's actually easier if you don't tense your muscles. Surprise is helpful. Besides, it shouldn't hurt anymore. I have to go ask Mr. Stark if we can hold you here overnight, or if you'll be sent to…wherever, immediately." She was hoping to keep him for observation overnight, maybe her observation. If not, maybe she would run into him some other time. Moving quickly, she walked out and closed the door behind her, looking up. She had nearly run smack dab into Tony Stark. "Oh, hello!" She exclaimed, blushing a little as she moved away. Mr. Stark was a handsome man, but she also knew about his reputation as a playboy. "I was just coming to ask you about uh, that Loki of Asgard." She said, saying his name as though it was the title of an unfamiliar book. "I think it would be best if we kept him overnight for observation, but I think he may need to be restrained better. He broke three ribs, but he still seems mobile enough to be an escape risk."

Tony shook his head. "In that case, we'll just go." He opened the door and walked in. "Alright, Loki. Time to go." He took the pair of handcuffs from the bed and Loki stood, then Tony yanked his arms back again. That made Loki cry out in pain again, almost falling to his knees.

Sophie frowned and rushed back into the room, literally pushing Tony Stark out of the way. "You dislocated his shoulder again." She said, scolding the billionaire. "Hold on." She pushed it back into place, making Loki glare at both of them.

"If you are done playing tug of war with my shoulders, I would like to leave now," Loki said, grumpily. His expression softened, though when he remembered how she practically yelled at Stark. His expression said it all- he was clearly not used to that. It made Loki want to laugh, but he also appreciated her defense.

After a moment, he put his hands forward and let Stark handcuff him in the front instead. "Why don't I just promise not to escape," He said, wryly.

Tony grunted. "We're all just leaping to take your word for it. Let's go," He didn't hate Loki per say, but being here reminded him of how many lives Loki took. They were lucky there weren't more. "Thank you, miss. We'll call you if we need anything."

Sophie nodded. "Have a good day Mr. Stark, Loki." She still hadn't apologized for being a little sharp with him. Ah well. Maybe if she did see them again. It wasn't like she would mind seeing Loki. Even if he was kind of moody. As she walked out of the secure cell and to the lounge, several nurses gathered around, asking questions.

"Did he talk to you?"

"What did he say?"

"Is he as dangerous as he looked on television?"

She looked at them all, just putting on her normal tennis shoes. "I just want to go home. Why are you all so excited over this 'Loki'?"

Edith looked at her. "You don't know? He caused all of this, he was the one attacking New York City."

"Wait. He was the one who attacked New York?" Sophie's face paled, as she felt a little dizzy. The one who caused all of this. And she had been nice to him, even had a little crush on him! "Oh, my god. I think I'm going to call it a night. See you all tomorrow." She added, walking out. All she needed now was a stiff drink and the world's longest nap.


	2. Chapter 2

It had been only three days since the attack of Loki, and the invasion. Time had seemed to move slowly, almost at a crawl. The city was obviously devastated, though they were slowly rebuilding. Sophie had started to write off Tony mentioning that they might need her again, figuring that they had taken care of themselves. That was until she got off work one day, and her cellphone rang. She picked it up and looked at the caller ID, arching an eyebrow. "Tony Stark? How the hell does it say that? He is /definitely/ not in my phone contacts." She said. Then figuring she had nothing else to lose, she pushed the button and pressed the phone to her ear. "Hello, Sophie Brannon speaking," There was no way he was calling just for fun, and she was right about that.

"Hey, uh…I think we might have broken Loki again?"

Screams of pain could be heard in the background, causing her brow to furrow. Sure, he had tried to murder half of New York and succeeded in a portion, but…torturing him didn't seem to be in the spirit of the American justice system. "Fine. I'll be there..lemme guess, Stark Tower?"

Tony nodded. "Yep. Thanks," He added, before hanging up.

So much for having the rest of the evening to herself. She started to walk quickly towards the Tower, then broke into a jog when she realized that he could be seriously injured. She was still in her scrubs, so that was a benefit at least. She hadn't even gotten the opportunity to change, with the exception of her shoes. Sophie was outside about fifteen minutes later, huffing and puffing. The door buzzed, and she was allowed inside before she could even press the button. The elevator doors opened as soon as she walked in, and she gladly took the less healthy option. After all, she had just jogged the entire way from the hospital. "Thank God for elevators," She said, leaning back against the wall, as it mildly hummed up to the top floor.

She was not at all prepared for what she saw. Tony was standing in the middle of the room, looking sheepish. Loki was on the couch, and whether it was due to the light furniture and floor or the amount of blood he had lost, it did not look good. Sophie hurried forward, looking up at him. "What the hell did you do? Do you /have/ any medical equipment around here? I thought one of your friends was supposed to be a doctor." She leaned over Loki, examining his injuries. He was awake, barely.

Loki looked up at her, blinking. "Have I died and gone to the halls of Valhalla?" He asked, still joking even in his rather groggy state. More scratches and bruises littered his body than before, though oddly enough, his ribs had healed. The main cause for concern was a slice wound on his head, that looked to have come from a dagger. It looked quite painful, and it was still bleeding.

Tony piped up. "If you were fortunate enough to die, you'd go straight to Helheim, pal."

Sophie glared back at him for a moment, then looked to Loki. "No, but thank you for comparing me to a weird Norse angel. Not sure why we're sticking with the Norse theme, but we're going to take care of this big cut on your head first."

She was trying to be nice, and not question too much. She knew something of Norse mythology from her college days, she had taken a class once. At the same time, she also very much doubted that it was true. She stood up and looked at Tony, then started walking towards what appeared to be a lab.

The brunette looked at her, starting to follow. "What the hell are you doing, you can't go in there!" He said, seeming rather outraged that she would even try it. It was clear that he wasn't in the best of moods.  
"Well, you haven't made any effort to go get even a first aid kit, let alone the tools required to properly care for him, so I was planning to go retrieve them myself. Surely with your friend Doctor Banner and your love of all this scientific, you have the tools I need." Sophie placed a hand firmly on her hip, and looked up at him. Somehow, she managed to be even shorter than Tony- but just as fierce.

He glanced over at Loki, who he would admit seemed a little more alabaster than his normal pale skin tone. "Fine. I'll be right back. You keep the patient awake."

She rolled his eyes when he attempted to order her around, but really that had been her plan. Walking back over to Loki, she knelt down beside him and gently moved the hair from his face. "Did Tony do that to you?" She asked, gently.

Loki shook his head, chuckling gently. "No..Tony couldn't elegantly use a knife if his puny life depended upon it. Natasha did it."

It took Sophie a moment to connect the face to the name, then to the super hero. Nodding, she gently brushed a strand of thick black hair from his face. "Don't worry. I'm not sure why they're hurting you, but I'm sure they'll stop soon. I'll make them stop." She winked, which managed to illicit a small smile from him.

"Thank you, Sophie." He said, his tone surprisingly..kind. "I do not think I will be remaining awake too much longer." He added, yawning.

Sophie latched onto Loki's arm, his cool armor and leather causing a slight flush to her cheeks as she shook him back awake. "I swear, damn Stark. He's probably moving at a snail's pace. I'm going to have grey hair by next week if I keep being forced to work with him." Not that she had been forced at all to come help, it was by her own choice that she had decided to come and help Loki. Maybe there was something between them, though she didn't get the sense that he felt as though she was anything but his nurse. He probably flirted with everyone. It sure seemed that way. Loki..god of mischief.

Finally, Tony returned with the first aid kit, and all the medical equipment he could find. A heart monitor, some antibiotic cream, and Hello Kitty bandages.

"It's about time," She said, chidingly.

Tony grunted and handed her the stuff. "You wouldn't believe what I had to go through to get all this."

Sophie chuckled. "I'll have you nominated for sainthood. Excuse me." She said, turning her attention to Loki. She started to wipe up the blood that was dripping from his head, with a soft sigh. His eyes had fluttered closed while they were speaking, which concerned her- but there was little she could do. Wrapping his head in gauze, he winced softly from the pain. "Good." That was definitely a good sign, at least he could feel pain still. He wasn't in a coma or anything. "Loki, are you still awake? Can you speak to me, please?"

Loki opened his eyes half-way, almost lazily. "I'm awake." He grumbled, not seeming too happy about it. "It may be due to the head injury, but will you stay here? Their frequent mistreatment is starting to show, and I'm too pretty to be all scarred up." He said, dryly.

It took a moment for Sophie to realize that he was kidding. He /was/ pretty. "I had intended on staying with you anyways, Loki. You've lost a lot of blood, thanks to these doofuses." She laughed lightly and finished bandaging his head, then put little Hello Kitty bandages on the cuts and scrapes that were left.

Tony squinted at her, crossing his arms. "Doofuses? Remember, Loki's the one who caused all that death and destruction. You should. Whatever, I'm going to go get a drink. If he tries anything, call Thor. Not my problem right now." He pouted away, to go get some whiskey.

She let out a gentle sigh and sat down beside him, helping Loki sit up more. "Relax, he's gone now. Have they been feeding you?" A sound from his stomach confirmed that they had not. Sophie shook her head. "For heroes, they sure can be jerks." Standing, she walked to the kitchen and helped herself to some chips, and water for him. He was so boney- it wasn't like he had anything to worry about. "Here, eat these." She said, putting the chips on his lap.

Loki looked at her. "I'm feeling kind of weak….feed me?" He asked, thinking it was a long shot.

Sophie laughed. "Only because you're cute." She put a single chip into his mouth, and watched contently as his eyes widened. "What are those? Why are they so…salty?" He, apparently, had never eaten chips before.

"Loki, they're potato chips! Do you like them?"

He shook his head. "Absolutely not, they are far too salty." There was no way he was going to have any more of those.

Sophie sighed again, this time out of irritation and returned to the kitchen. "Fine. We have carrots, eggs, some leftover chicken, and something that I'm pretty sure isn't food. What do you want?" She called, maybe a little loudly.

Loki touched the uninjured side of his head. "Ow, headache!" He whined, basically just being bratty now. "I'll take some chicken." He had never eaten that, but it would be good enough.

She got the chicken out along with a fork, then sat down beside him. "Eat this, or I'll stab you with the fork. Got it?"

"Uh, sure." He took the fork and the chicken, eating quickly. It wasn't that good either, but it was definitely better than the gross chips. "I think we should agree to a truce." He said, suddenly.

Sophie tilted her head, scooting up on the soft couch. "What kind of a truce? I didn't figure you were the peace-making kind. Plus, you haven't done anything to personally wrong me, other than being kind of demanding."

That caused a blush of pink to arrive on his cheeks. Sure, he was often demanding or obnoxious, but it was rare that anyone ever called him out on it. "I'm accustomed to getting as I demand," That was the only apology he gave, and likely the closest thing she would ever receive to one. "However. I don't want you to hate me, so I'll do my best." His eyes softened as he looked at her. "Thank you for continuing to patch me up."

She smiled. "Any time, Loki. Any time."


	3. Chapter 3

Sophie had only been there for three days, but she was beginning to think of Stark Tower as home. Leaving certainly wasn't going to be easy. Tony had arranged for her to take some time off work, so she could care for the fallen Prince of Asgard. Another sunny afternoon, she was sitting on a comfortable leather chair in the living room- catching up on some reading. Suddenly, she felt the chair become heavier and a cool presence by her side. A deep voice like silk broke her from the rest of her reading trance, glancing up at the handsome prince.

"Reading is also a favorite past-time of mine, you know." Loki said, looking at her. They were close together even though the chair was large.

A soft blush began to creep up Sophie's cheeks, and she smiled. "I'm not surprised. You had to have learned to talk like that somewhere." Thinking for a moment, she looked up a him. "Do you need something?" His body seemed to have healed entirely, which signaled to her that she wouldn't be needed soon- a sad fact.

Loki touched her chin, smirking a little. Gods, that smirk. "I can think of something, but it requires your willingness, as well."

She looked into his deep green eyes for a moment, her own hazel eyes containing a small measure of hesitance. This guy was a villain. Why hadn't she fallen for a good guy? Thor was attractive, even if he was kind of stupid on occasion. Tony even, would have been a better choice. Now, her heart was sure. She had to have Loki. "Well…" She began softly, a small sideways smile appearing on her own face. "I think I could arrange that." With a suddenness that he somehow didn't expect, she leaned up and closed the distance between their face- kissing his lips gently.

Not to be outdone, he wrapped his hands around her back and started to kiss back deeply, teeth nipping at her lips as tongue was included. That caused her to pull back, letting out a tiny cry of surprise. "Ouch!" She said, looking up at him. "What was that?" Her lips were bleeding a tiny bit, which made him give a devilish smile.

"What, no man has ever nipped you a bit before? I apologize- you've clearly been having the wrong kind of relationships." He laughed, and stood up. "I think…we should have some dinner tonight. Meet me on the roof tonight at eleven, and don't tell anybody. Otherwise, I might have to repeat that little incident." Loki added, smirking. "See you then." With that, he had made a quick departure- before she could protest.

Sophie frowned a little, but the date had already been made. Was there any choice? Since when was Loki so dominant? It was actually pretty sexy, not that she would admit it. There was definitely a choice, there had to. With that in mind, she decided to accept; now it was just the matter of what to wear. "Maybe something green? He always looks so damned handsome in that tunic. I really don't understand that." She mused, to herself. "How long has it been since a tunic has been in fashion?" He still managed to make it look so good- it wasn't fair.

The day went by much too quickly for her own tastes. Sophie still didn't know what to wear, and it was 10:45. She was digging through the guest closet, but didn't find anything suitable in the clothes that she had brought. Scrubs- that wasn't going to work on a date. There was a knock on the door, and she rose an eyebrow. Loki? No, they had agreed to meet. She peeked out the door, still in her bathrobe. "Hello?" Sophie squeaked, jumping a little when she saw Natasha.

Nat smiled a little. "Hey. Tony told me that Loki was acting like a freak on the roof, and I put two and two together. I know you're still pissed that I sliced his head open, so, surprise!" She said softly, holding out a lovely green dress with gold embroidering. "You're pretty good for him. Just make sure he doesn't get into too much mischief."

Sophie took the dress and hugged Natasha carefully, smiling. "Thank you, Natasha. I have to get dressed now, so I'll see you tomorrow." The woman nodded and took her leave, and Sophie truthfully felt very relieved. Something to wear. It only took a few moments to get dressed, she had already put up her long red hair in a loose bun, having carefully curled it. The only hairstyle she knew how to do for formal events was the kind she had done for prom. Her makeup was also done, so once she put her heels on, it was a mad dash up to the roof.

She barely made it in time. One minute until eleven, Sophie stepped out onto the roof. Loki looked up, crossing his arms in order to hide how absolutely pleased and smitten he was. She looked absolutely beautiful too.

"Good evening," He said formally, pulling out a chair for her. Once she sat down, he gently pushed it in and sat down across from her. "I was beginning to worry that you had turned me down."

Sophie shook her head slightly, taking his hand from across the table. "No, I wouldn't miss it for the world, Loki. Even if I am a little worried that you might throw me off, like Tony." She was joking, of course.

Loki couldn't help but chuckle a little, and he shook his head. "No, I wouldn't do that. You're far too pretty. Besides, I was in a state of emotional distress at the time. I hope spaghetti is to your liking, it's the only thing that I've been taught to make so far."

She arched an eyebrow, looking at the food. Then, shrugging, she took a bite. "It's good." It was kind of impressive that he had actually cooked this for her, instead of just summoning it. "It's cool that you didn't use your magic, either." She added gently, continuing to eat the pasta quietly. Maybe it wasn't the best meal she had ever had- but that was okay, the look on his face was worth it.

"Thank you," Loki said- thinking. This was a date, right? The city was lovely, but nothing compared to the way the lights of the city reflected onto her eyes- the real electricity. "Sophie…" He began, sounding oddly unsure for once in his life. His eyes gazed into hers for a moment, the soft light making his eyes shine too. "Have I ever told you how completely and utterly exquisite you are?" He smiled softly, not a smirk. It was just a genuine smile.

Sophie looked at him, blushing bright red. "I..no, I don't believe you've ever told me that. Thank you." She was genuinely surprised by the compliment. "However, you're not too bad looking yourself."

A soft laugh bubbled from the normally stoic male, a soft 'ehehe' sound that Sophie couldn't help but laugh with him, it was just so sweet and contagious. How could this man ever hurt a fly? "Loki," She said softly, suddenly became serious. "Why did you attack? Didn't you know you would hurt people…kill people?" Her soft smile had disappeared, as the thought troubled her.

Loki's smile disappeared as well. He was quiet for a long moment, thinking. "I suppose I knew, though I didn't realize at the beginning how fragile humans were. I was blind in my rage, and I wanted to prove myself. Call it a mistake of adolescence."

Sophie looked at him seriously, eating a noodle as she thought. "So you regret what you did?" This was important- she didn't want to date some sociopath with no hope of recovery. Of course he could always lie, but she got the sense that he was candid with her nearly all the time.

Loki looked out at the city for a moment, then nodded. "Yes, I believe I do. Somewhere inside me I knew I would never rule…I just couldn't cope." He sighed. "I apologize, Sophie. Is there something I can do to prove my loyalty to you? The last thing I want to do is hurt you." It seemed as though her questions had put a slight damper on the evening.

Sophie shook her head. "No, no, Loki. I know you won't hurt me. I forgive you, but it's going to take a lot longer for others to forgive you. Anyways, let's not ruin the night, okay? I have an idea." She stood up and took her own glass of wine towards the edge of the building, and sat down.

He stood and followed her, sitting down beside her with the wine as well. "Sophie…I care for you deeply." Loki didn't make eye contact with her. "I know I don't deserve your affections, but I crave them." Nervousness was obvious in his voice. "I…I know I'm- "

He was cut off by her lips being pressed to his, so he couldn't dig himself deeper. Wrapping her arms around him, she smiled and deepened the kiss. They both tasted like wine and she inhaled, breathing in his scent. He smelt faintly of pine needles, and that irresistible musky scent that seemed to be uniquely his. After a few more seconds, she pulled away and looked up at him. "Loki. I care for you too. Don't worry. I do."


End file.
